British investment fund Actis recently divested from auto part retailer AutoXpress. According to Africa Global Funds, which reported the news, Actis' shares were sold to private equity firm AfricInvest at an undisclosed amount.  “We are proud to have supported AutoXpress as it continues to scale, in its corporate development, and on its CSR programs. We wish them the very best as they...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) obtained nearly US$2 billion in funding pledges from the international community to combat food insecurity in the Sahel and Lake Chad region. The information was disclosed in a press release, published, Thursday (April 7) by the organization on its website.   The pledges represent almost half of the humanitarian appeal...

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday, April 5, passed a bill creating a national industrial and technology park. The bill, sponsored by Senator Ibikunle Amosun, aims to establish the National Industrial and Technology Park as a mechanism for “ clustering of knowledge & innovation-based industrial parks formation in Nigeria.”  It has been referred to the Committee on Trade and Investment which...

Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) and Danish fund IFU invested US$27.9 million in Continental Blue Investments Ghana (CBI), one of Ghana's five cement producers. Of the US$27.9 million invested, IFU contributed US$7.5 million. “We are excited to partner with and support CBI’s leadership team, its Board, and existing investors, and look forward to actively working...

Ghana will host the African Development Bank Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings from 23-27 May in its capital, Accra. This year’s meetings mark a return to in-person sessions following virtual meetings over the last two years. They will be held in a hybrid format with participants present in Accra and online. The physical sessions, including statutory meetings of governors of the Bank and...

From 26 February to 30 March 2022, Bolloré Transport & Logistics Benin teams transported six electrical transformers weighing a total of 464 tonnes to equip numerous thermal power stations in Benin. This operation was carried out on behalf of GE/GRID Solution, a local subsidiary of General Electric, under the Compact II programme represented by the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA). Shipped...

Despite efforts to build vaccine capacity in low-income countries, lack of funding continues to be a major obstacle in the fight against covid-19. The international community pledges an additional US$4.8 billion to help low-income countries respond to COVID-19. The announcement was made by the Global Vaccine Alliance (Gavi) on Friday, April 8, at the end of a summit organized by Ghana, Senegal,...

Sekou Oumar Barry (photo), Director General of Guinea’s Regulatory Authority for Posts and Telecommunications (ARPT), is the new director of the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA). He was elected at the 19th Annual General Assembly of the institution held in Conakry, Republic of Guinea, from March 29 to 31.  The newly elected director succeeds Nigerian Umar...

In Morrocco, the central bank Bank Al-Maghrib, the Ministry of Finance, the Foreign Exchange Office, and the Financial Markets Regulator recently prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies in the country. According to a joint release published on March 5, 2022, the ban is decided to protect citizens against legal problems and financial losses. According to regulatory authorities, cryptocurrencies...

In Nigeria,  Mele Kyari (Photo), MD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is calling for the creation of a special court for oil thefts The official made the plea on Thursday, during his address before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources to explain why the country’s oil production dropped by over 500,000 barrels to 1.2 million barrels...